The Sunday Junkie: Feb. 24 edition

Saturday’s UFC 157 event and Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche headliner was either a historic moment for MMA, a good ol’ fashioned barnburner, or proof that the UFC has gone about women’s MMA the wrong way.

In this week’s edition of “The Sunday Junkie,” our weekly reader-feedback feature, MMAjunkie.com readers discuss the pay-per-view blockbuster – and the week’s other big news – from all angles.

This week’s winning entry, which came from New York’s Floyd Patterson Jr, argues that the UFC got a perfect outcome to the fight.

For his winning entry, Floyd receives a free one-year subscription to “Fighters Only” magazine, the world’s leading MMA and lifestyle magazine.

Want to submit to next week’s edition of The Sunday Junkie? Scroll to the bottom of the page for instructions.

Also, as a reminder, please be sure to include your hometown and stick within the 150-word limit (and include your submission in the body of an email, not in an attachment). Many quality submissions this week didn’t meet those minimum guidelines and couldn’t be considered for publication.

(Pictured: Ronda Rousey)

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ROUSEY VS. CARMOUCHE? PERFECT

The first-ever UFC women’s fight was, in a sense, perfect. Liz Carmouche almost pulled off the upset of the year with a nasty backpack neck crank, only for Ronda Rousey to gut it out, escape, and keep her streak of first-round armbars alive with 11 seconds to go. To top it off, their one-round fight was far better than the Lyoto Machida vs. Dan Henderson co-main that many pundits claimed was the “true main event.” With the naysayers now firmly silenced, many questions remain. Whom do they both fight next? Will Rousey coach on “The Ultimate Fighter?” How well did the event do on pay-per-view? Would a women’s title fight be the headliner if billed on the same night as a men’s flyweight or bantamweight title fight? Will Gina Carano return? Will Rousey vs. “Cyborg” Santos ever happen? The new questions are endless, but one has surely been answered: Women’s MMA is here to stay.

Floyd Patterson Jr.
Long Island, N.Y.

WOMEN’S MMA STILL A NOVELTY IN CURRENT FORM

In the lead-up to a fantastic fight, Ronda Rousey kept repeating that women’s MMA is legit and not a novelty act. Unfortunately for her, this is not true. I am not trying to take away from her amazing abilities or any of the women who work tirelessly to perfect their craft. Though, so long as there is not more developmental aspects and more weight classes in the UFC, it will always be a sideshow. Rousey will sell tickets and pay-per-views based more on her looks then her ability to fight. If Dana White truly believes in women’s MMA, he needs to start looking into ways to develop the talent and add more than one weight class. Maybe a “TUF” is in order for Rousey and her next opponent to coach. Either way, in its current form, it will always be a novelty.

Glenn “GQuagmire21″ Sargent
Conyers, Ga.

UFC 157 MAIN EVENT PROVES WORTHY

To me, it is not about history being made in having the first female in the UFC octagon. It is not about the star power or the much overused superlatives that make a main event. It is the fight and the fight alone that makes the main event, and Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche delivered at UFC 157. As paying customers and fans, we all want to see exciting fights between fighters willing to put it all out there. Rousey and Carmouche did just that. As a fan who was originally disappointed in the fact that Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida was not the headliner, I think we all took something away from UFC 157. Saturday night’s main event proved worthy of its slot on the fight card.

Tripp Robbins
Herndon, Va.

ROUSEY IS A WARRIOR – BUT NOT UNBEATABLE

Ronda Rousey did it again: She won via first-round armbar. She has shown all the doubters that she can stand with the best and still win dominantly, but she has also shown she isn’t unbeatable. Liz Carmouche had Rousey in a dangerous rear-naked choke at one point that was very close to ending the fight in her favor. But Rousey’s skill, strength and size eventually helped her get out of danger and finish the fight. In a way, Rousey is very similar to Jon Jones: They are both pretty big for their weight classes, and both seem pretty unbeatable right now. But just like Jones almost lost his last fight via armbar, Rousey almost lost last night’s fight via rear-naked choke. What we should take away from this is that in MMA, nobody is unbeatable, despite what their records might show.

Robert “rob7″ Parau
Windsor, Ontario, Canada

FEMALE FANS CAN RELATE TO UFC’S NEWEST STAR

The UFC’s gamble with women’s MMA may have provided another Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar moment for future female fans of the sport. MMA typically draws interest from the standard male demographic, thus excluding a considerable portion of a potential fan base. For instance, my fiancee has always supported my interest in MMA; however, I’ve never been able to keep her awake even through the most exciting cards I’ve selectively screened for her entertainment. I never understood how she could barely give a half-interested nod of approval when I explained the significance of the fights we were watching. What she and many potential female fans of MMA needed was an athlete whom women can be excited to identify and relate to. This fight was the perfect matchup to bring women into the sport as well as hush up the doubters. There’s still a ways to go, but thanks ladies!

Rob Yaeger
Sumter, S.C.

ROUSEY’S REPETITION COULD BE AN ISSUE

New promotion, new opponent, same result: first-round armbar. Kudos to Ms. Ronda Rousey and a very game Liz Carmouche. Unfortunately I don’t find Rousey that exciting. It’s because she does one thing better than anyone on the planet for sure, but we all know it’s coming. The only question is how long before she locks in that nasty armbar. It’s almost scripted. I don’t mean the fight is rigged, just the fact that it’s the only way she attempts to finish fights. Could being too good at one thing turn out to be bad for her success or women’s MMA in the UFC? Maybe, but probably not. MMA is awesome because there are so many possible ways to defeat an opponent. Watching the same person only attempt the same submission fight after fight gets old fast and removes most of the suspense and excitement that makes this sport so awesome.

George “the Animal” Morris
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

ROUSEY VS. CARMOUCHE DELIVERS FOR NEW AND EXISTING FANS

Another card in the books, and another reason why I love MMA so much. After so much speculation about women’s MMA in the UFC and whether it was a good decision, the ladies showed us all what they are made of. After such a highly anticipated co-main event that turned out to be a snoozer, Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche was just what we needed for a wakeup call. With Carmouche almost pulling off the impossible right out of the gate, Rousey turned it around with a finish that had us all out of our seats. No matter what anyone says, this proved to be a wise decision on Dana White’s part. Many women that I know that would never bat an eye at a UFC fight couldn’t help but get drawn in by the beauty of this fight. Congratulations ladies. We’re hungry for more.

“The Hammer”
Ontario, Canada

COMEBACKS LIKE ROUSEY’S MAKE CHAMPIONS

Comebacks make champions. At UFC 157, Ronda Rousey was in a bad situation against Liz Carmouche that many would have tapped to, but she came back to win in classic fashion. I believe the the ability to be on the verge of defeat and comeback and finish is what makes a champion a champion. Jon Jones was in a very tappable situation against Vitor Belfort but came back for the finish, Frankie Edgar was hurt against Gray Maynard and came back for the finish, and Anderson Silva was 90 seconds from losing to Chael Sonnen. The UFC, not TNT, knows drama.

“Fedorsonsilva”
Laguna Beach, Calif.

UFC WAS SIMPLY OPPORTUNISTIC WITH WOMEN’S MMA

Last night I kept shaking my head wondering why everyone is making such a big deal out of women in the UFC. The UFC is a business, not a sport. Last night was not the first time women were allowed to fight MMA. The only reason women are now in the UFC is because they are profitable. Celebrating the UFC for bringing in women would be like celebrating Levi’s when they made their first women’s jeans. If anything the UFC stunted the growth of women’s MMA by refusing to use its might and resources to help build it. Strikeforce was the main organization pushing it forward, followed by Invicta FC, and now that it is profitable, it is in the UFC, and people think they are changing the world. It is great Ronda Rousey’s weight class has a new home, but hopefully the UFC builds on women’s MMA doesn’t just cash in on Rousey.

Tj McKeough
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada

SHOULD UFC QUIT ANNOUNCING TITLE ELIMINATORS

Saturday’s UFC 157 co-main-event bout between Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson didn’t create the fireworks everyone was expecting in what turned out to be an obvious lackluster No. 1 contender’s match. Dana White announced in the weeks leading up to UFC 157 that the winner would get the next shot at light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones. I often find myself asking if such matches were not announced as official No. 1 contender’s matches if some of these top athletes would not be so hesitant to go for the finish more and take “safer” game plan routes to get the W, and thus ensuring a title shot. Call it ring rust on Dan Henderson’s part or smart strategy on Lyoto Machida’s, but if all the pressure of a No. 1 contender’s fight wasn’t in the picture, could this have been a more entertaining fight between two absolute killers? Should Dana White hold back from making such promises until after the bout takes place for both fighters and fans?

Tony Gonzalez
Inglewood, Calif.

WHY DIDN’T HENDERSON’S AGGRESSION AND OCTAGON CONTROL MATTER?

Lyoto Machida’s split-decision victory over Dan Henderson at UFC 157 is disappointing. Henderson moved forward for nearly the entirety of the bout while Machida retreated. Henderson also controlled the fight when it went to the ground. Machida may have landed more strikes, but that’s only one of the three judging criteria. For those who argue that Machida is simply engaging in effective counter-striking, I would contend that if a competitor doesn’t score a knockout, or at least strikes that seriously impede his opponent, with his counter-striking, then he’s just losing. In a sport built around fighting, it seems improper for an individual to repeatedly win by not doing so.

Brandon Garrison
Dallas, Texas

URIJAH FABER’S PREDICAMENT

As soon as Joe Rogan asked a victorious Urijah Faber about Renan Barao, I knew the Internet comments were coming. More title talk for Faber? Since losing his title to Mike Brown in 2008, Faber has gone 6-4, with all four losses being title-fight decisions. However, the six wins (five finishes) were absolutely dominant performances against top 10 ranked talents at the time. So what do you do with a fighter who comes up short in title fights, but runs through everyone else without breaking a sweat? Maybe match him with Michael McDonald or Brad Pickett? What if he wins in dominant fashion again? Until the UFC’s 135-pound division finds more fighters to take on Faber’s level of notoriety and talent, he will always be in the title picture and one or two fights removed from a shot. And, honestly, justifiably so.

Christian “angeryjunkie” Anger
Sacramento, Calif.

JOE ROGAN NEEDS TO KEEP HIS OPINIONS TO HIMSELF

At the end of the Josh Koscheck vs. Robbie Lawler fight at UFC 157, Joe Rogan clearly stated that he didn’t agree with the stoppage by referee Herb Dean. I like Rogan better than any other UFC announcer, but I don’t think he is doing the sport any good. It’s OK if he wants to blog and rant about his opinions later, but please keep it to yourself, Joe, while I enjoy the pay-per-view. Rogan is only stirring the pot of the controversy of fight stoppages, and he knows it. Dean is as good as it gets in the UFC, so let’s give him his due respect. Koscheck took five major direct blows to the head, he wasn’t protecting himself, and he didn’t seem too upset with the call. It seemed that one of the earlier knees to the body hurt Koscheck, and the ensuing punches to the head sealed the deal.

Matt Eagle
Honolulu, Hawaii

EXPLAINING THE JON FITCH RELEASE

You’re running a successful company, and you’ve just bought a rival firm. That firm has some quality employees: young, talented and a welcome addition to your workforce. You’ll have to let some of your existing employees go, and one guy in particular is troubling you. He’s one of your better performers, but you’re not a fan of the way he goes about his business, or him personally. He had a shot at the top job some years ago, and he came up short. He still delivers on occasions, but in all likelihood he’s destined to be “just another guy.” And he’s expensive. In years past you would have kept him around for a while, but the company is moving on, and you’ve got a bunch of new guys hungry to be a part of that. Sorry Jon Fitch, you’re going to have to leave.

Simon Lee
London, England

UFC NEEDS TO GIVE NICK DIAZ SOME SPACE

If you have seen any interviews with Nick Diaz from “UFC Primetime,” then you have seen some very clear signs of some sort of social phobia/anxiety. The interviews that miraculously lasted longer than a few minutes showed Diaz incredibly uncomfortable and growing more agitated with every second. Dana White, in the U.S., we have laws to protect people with disabilities from being discriminated against. Either let Diaz fight without the media requirements, or cut him loose. As a fan of the sport, I beg for the former, and judging by how many chances you’ve given him, I believe you are a fan of his talent as well.

“James”
Kendall Park, N.J.

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